The Czechoslovak Review/Volume 3/The Work of Our Women
The Work of Our Women
By Libuše S. Moták.
The Czechoslovak women were among the first of the foreign racial groups to organize for war service. There was every reason why they ought not delay. Theirs was a double responsibility. They welcomed the opportunity to show their loyalty and gratitude to the country of their adoption, in the defense of which they were ready to stand—to the last woman—if necessary. And again their hearts yearned to help their mother country, Czechoslovakia, which was engaged in a death struggle for liberty, with its inveterate oppressors, the Germans and the Magyars.
As active members of the Bohemian (Czech) National Alliance and the Slovak League, they had gained experience which prepared them, in a measure, or the tremendous task that now confronted them. Everywhere they began this task by offering their services to the American Red Cross, Liberty Loan Committees and other patriotic agencies. They participated in all the recognized National War Activities and Drives. They continued in this work throughout the duration of the war, and time will show that the Czechoslovak women of this country bore, creditably, a generous share of the war’s burden that fell to the American womanhood.
When the good news came that by the decree of the President of France the formation of an independent Czechoslovak Army was authorized, the Czechoslovak women saw that their chance to help their mother country—by backing up, morally and materially, the men who were fighting for her freedom. This acted as an impetus to organize themselves throughout the country into groups for the special purpose of doing relief work for Czechoslovak volunteers and their dependents. These groups assumed such names as “Priadky” (Spinners), “Včelky” (Bees), etc. They realized that while for America they could work through the existing national organizations, the Czechoslovak relief work they could do more efficiently through organizations of their own. They patterned their activities after the American relief committees. They made the usual type of comfort articles given to men in service, collected books, newspapers and magazines, and solicited money for the purchase of tobacco and chocolate.
In order to unify and coordinate the activities of these local and disconnected relief groups, a National Czechoslovak Relief Committee, with offices in New York, was established at a Conference of the Slovak League and the Bohemian (Czech) National Alliance, held early in February of 1918. This Committee was to be one of the Departments of the Czechoslovak National Council in America (now the American Czechoslovak Board), formed at the same Conference.
To me came the honor and the responsibility of the Chairmanship of the National Relief Committee, representing the Czech women of the United States. Miss Ethel Cablk was elected Secretary, and represented the Slovak women.
We went to work without delay, and a modest little office was opened at 316 East 72nd Street. There was, however, nothing modest about our visions as to what our organization would eventually become. We took the American Red Cross as our model for the plan of organization, and the map of the United States as our field of activity. Our first task was to get in touch with the above mentioned local relief groups and to form them into a nucleus of the larger organization as it exists today. This involved a considerable amount of correspondence, and to simplify matters it was decided to divide our field; accordingly ten Division Offices were established in the following Cities New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Bridgeport, Omaha, St. Louis, Houston, Baltimore and San Francisco.
The work of these Division Offices was, first, to get into closer touch with the Czechoslovak women in their respective territories and to organize them into local relief committees where it had not already been done; second, to distribute and direct the work of these committees; third, to receive the material made and collected, and to pack it in cases ready for shipment abroad, all these cases being consigned to the National Headquarters in New York, where final arrangements for shipping were made.
President Masaryk Arrives in Prague.
Scene from Masaryk’s Reception in Prague..
Our Bohemian Heroes from France in Prague.
We now have more than 300 local relief branches, and considering that all organization work was done entirely by correspondence, (in order to economize, an organizer was not sent out) the results were in all respects satisfactory. It is really remarkable how splendidly our women came forward and how harmoniously they worked together, although up to this time there had been very little cooperation care for the dependents of Czechoslovak volunteers fighting in France, in the same manner in which the families of the American soldiers are cared for.
A plan by which Red Cross Local Chapters and Local Czechoslovak Relief Committees could cooperate in the care of these families was agreed upon by national officers of the two organizations, and has been as effectively carried out as between the Czech and Slovak women in their national organizations.
CZECHOSLOVAK RELIEF COMMITTEE, NEW YORK.
Upper right, Miss Marie T. E. Ruman
Lower right, Mrs. Chas. R. MotakUpper left, Miss Ethel Cablk
Lower left, Mrs. Chas. Vohrna
Our first concern was for the families of our fighting men; they must not be allowed to bear physical privation, since they had already made a great sacrifice by giving their supporters to the Army. In this part of our task the American Red Cross, living up to its name of “The Greatest Mother,” adopted, at our request, the then “Baby Ally” and accepted the obligation to could be expected, everything being considered. Our National Office is in constant correspondence with the Home Service Sections of the American Red Cross and the Czechoslovak Committees wherever we have dependents, and has on file a complete record of each case. From the Czechoslovak Military Department dependent parents, wives, and children up to sixteen years of age receive a regular monthly allowance, and in cases where there is a need which our Local Relief Committee cannot meet, this allowance is usually supplemented by the American Red Cross in a way best suited to the individual case. Friendly visiting is also done. Social gatherings are arranged for the mothers and children, and on such holidays as Thanksgiving and Christmas, gifts for the children and baskets of cheer for the families are provided by our Local Committees. Much is being done, but now that the stress of war is over, we hope to do more, especially for those families where the husband, father or son will return no more, having given their lives on the field of honor.
It was in November of 1917 that the first unit of volunteers consisting of seventy-two men, left this country. Other units followed in quick succession. In every case each volunteer before leaving for France was given reading matter and tobacco for the trip overseas, besides a full set of knitted articles, consisting of sweater, wristlets, helmet, socks; also a well filled comfort kit containing about twenty-five articles. If any of the volunteers could carry more than their personal baggage, they were given parcels with cigarettes for the men “over there.” In this way several hundred thousand cigarettes were sent to our units in France with the least possible delay.
Later on, when an embarkation camp was established at Stamford, Conn., it fell again to the Women’s Relief Organization to equip it with bed linens, quilts, towels, soap, underwear, pajamas, sick room necessities, books, newspapers and tobacco. In special cases we supplied shoes, caps, overcoats, razors and eveiMraveling bags. Whenever a volunteer needed anything, he had but to ask, and if it lay in our power to meet the need, he did not ask in vain. The supplies which we sent to the Camp amounted in all to $22,000. Recently, when the Camp was discontinued, most of the equipment was sent to France. In this connection it should be stated that we received general and cordial cooperation from the American Red Cross, through Atlantic Division and the Stamford and New York Chapters, when our stock happened to be depleted by shipments to France.
During all this time we knew that our Czechoslovak units in France, Italy and Russia were looking to the Czechoslovaks of America for moral, and, if possible, material support. These expectations we were only too anxious to meet, as far as lay in our power, because we knew how vital a factor they were in the hole scheme of our revolution. The hearts of our women were touched, especially by the thought that most of these men had been separated for three and four years from what was dearest to them—their country, their families. We had the greatest incentive to work, and work we did, day and night. The majority of our women do not belong to the leisure class, and hence their work in connection with the Relief Committees was done after their ordinary duties had been attended to, that is at night.
To France and Italy we shipped, through the courtesy of the French High Commission, during a period of ten months, 190 cases valued at $51,741. These cases contained knitted wear, underwear, tobacco, chocolate, books, magazines, newspapers, sheet music, musical instruments, regimental flags, comfort kits, handkerchiefs, socks, towels, foot bandages, soap etc. Many contained hundreds of packages for individuals from relatives and friends, who very often also sent sums of money for volunteers in France, Italy and Russia, which we remitted through our Military Department.
Reports reached us of the glorious deeds of the Czechoslovak troops in Russia. Our officers who arrived in this country from Siberia confirmed these reports, but also informed us of the privations and hardships which these men had been enduring for months. We were anxious to help, but were powerless until recently, when our Military Attache at Washington arranged with the United States Shipping Roard for the loading of a cargo of supplies to Vladivostok. Because our Army in Siberia numbered almost 100,000 men, we know that we could help only in a general way; and after learning from good authority that a button costs 1 ruble, a spool of cotton 4 to 5 rubles, that needles could not be bought at any price, and that our men had not had a piece of soap for six months, we decided that comfort kits would best meet this need. We therefore sent out appeals for kits containing these articles and any other comforts that the donors might choose to add. Besides each comfort kit was to contain a personal note.
To write up the results of our Comfort Kit Campaign would fill pages, and would be fascinating reading for anyone. These so called comfort kits were all that their name implies and more. They contained underwear, socks, sewing kits, razors, combs, shaving cream, talcum powder, vaseline, bandages, writing paper, pencils, wash cloths, laundry and toilet soap, towels, handkerchiefs and candy. Many had coffee, dry sausage, boullion cubes, canned goods, etc., etc. Very often a patriotic donor would enclose a nicely folded American flag. The letters were such as will be cherished by the recipients all their lives.
The above description of the comfort kits sent to Russia seems almost an exaggeration, but when it is considered that the majority were not just ordinary comfort kits, but bags measuring 20x36 inches, and were valued up to $28.00, it can readily be seen that the above statements are facts. Every kit was a voluntary contribution, some of those most generously filled coming from men and women in the humblest circumstances. The variety in size, contents and value may not have been a fair division to our soldiers, but that happened through inexperience in providing for an army—where all are equal. However, this did not worry us, as we know that the Czechoslovak Army is one huge brotherhood and that our men share everything in brotherly fashion; so it was unnecessary for us to do the dividing here.
To Russia we shipped 306 cases, valued at approximately $68,397.
We will continue our work until the men are home again; and even then our work is not finished. Ours was a double responsibility, but we have reaped a twofold reward; victory for the United States and independence for Czechoslovakia. Our gratitude spurs us on to renewed effort. We are now preparing to take part in the coming Victory Loan and already our women are busy knitting and sewing garments for returning soldiers, convalescents, widows and orphans of Czechoslovakia. Funds continue to be raised to help meet the many needs of the new republic whose statesmen are bringing order out of chaos in such an admirable way.
We Czechoslovak women cherish the watchword given by President Thomas Garrigue Masaryk to Czechoslovaks the world over: “We shall remain steadfast until the end.”
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1960, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 63 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse